‘Shaken baby syndrome’ and the flawed science in our criminal courts

[Disir]

Conveniently, the diagnosis provided the cause and manner of death (shaking), identified the killer (the last person alone with the child), and even gave prosecutors mens rea (anger). The diagnosis made national news in 1997 when British au pair Louise Woodward was tried for the murder of Massachusetts infant Matthew Eappen. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

But a determined group of skeptics began to question the diagnosis shortly after that case. As the SBS prosecutions continued, the group of skeptics grew too. The skeptics now include Ronald Uscinski, a former student of Ayub Ommaya, whose research on monkeys in the late 1960s is thought to be the origin of the SBS diagnosis. (See Emily Bazelon’s excellent review of the research in her 2011 piece for the New York Times Magazine, as well as this follow-up.)

New research suggests that most humans aren’t capable of shaking an infant hard enough to produce the symptoms in SBS. It usually takes an accompanying blow to the head. And in about half to two-thirds of the 200 or so SBS cases prosecuted each year in the U.S., there are no outward signs of physical injury. Indeed, this is the reason SBS is such a convenient diagnosis. It allows prosecutors to charge a suspected abuser despite no outward signs of abuse. But we now know that other causes can produce these symptoms, which means that some percentage of the people convicted in SBS cases are going to prison for murders that may have never happened.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled that the SBS evidence presented in Del Prete’s case wasn’t scientifically sound, and had jurors heard the evidence against the diagnosis, they would not have convicted her. The problem for Del Prete and those like her is that while the criminal justice system was quick to let in forensic evidence that convicted her, once convicted, the system puts a premium on finality. In order to get a new trial in a case like this, someone like Del Prete must show not only that she was convicted based on faulty scientific evidence, she must also show that she could not have known at the time of her trial that the evidence was flawed. For Del Prete, that will be difficult. She was convicted in 2003, well after doubts began to emerge about SBS.

?Shaken baby syndrome? and the flawed science in our criminal courts

And another for sure thang is biting the dust.

 

[whitehall]

Flawed science? Does a human infant normally die from a self inflicted broken neck? A freaking monkey expert is the defense witness? Are monkeys ever prosecuted for manslaughter of their young?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Conveniently, the diagnosis provided the cause and manner of death (shaking), identified the killer (the last person alone with the child), and even gave prosecutors mens rea (anger). The diagnosis made national news in 1997 when British au pair Louise Woodward was tried for the murder of Massachusetts infant Matthew Eappen. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

But a determined group of skeptics began to question the diagnosis shortly after that case. As the SBS prosecutions continued, the group of skeptics grew too. The skeptics now include Ronald Uscinski, a former student of Ayub Ommaya, whose research on monkeys in the late 1960s is thought to be the origin of the SBS diagnosis. (See Emily Bazelon’s excellent review of the research in her 2011 piece for the New York Times Magazine, as well as this follow-up.)

New research suggests that most humans aren’t capable of shaking an infant hard enough to produce the symptoms in SBS. It usually takes an accompanying blow to the head. And in about half to two-thirds of the 200 or so SBS cases prosecuted each year in the U.S., there are no outward signs of physical injury. Indeed, this is the reason SBS is such a convenient diagnosis. It allows prosecutors to charge a suspected abuser despite no outward signs of abuse. But we now know that other causes can produce these symptoms, which means that some percentage of the people convicted in SBS cases are going to prison for murders that may have never happened.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled that the SBS evidence presented in Del Prete’s case wasn’t scientifically sound, and had jurors heard the evidence against the diagnosis, they would not have convicted her. The problem for Del Prete and those like her is that while the criminal justice system was quick to let in forensic evidence that convicted her, once convicted, the system puts a premium on finality. In order to get a new trial in a case like this, someone like Del Prete must show not only that she was convicted based on faulty scientific evidence, she must also show that she could not have known at the time of her trial that the evidence was flawed. For Del Prete, that will be difficult. She was convicted in 2003, well after doubts began to emerge about SBS.

?Shaken baby syndrome? and the flawed science in our criminal courts

And another for sure thang is biting the dust.

Not expert in this area, but off the top of my head I'd think any adult has more than enough strength to shake a 20 pound baby violently enough to kill it. Causing brain disruption isn't hard or anything. Vigorous shaking back n forth could very easily cause a concussion and resulting neural trauma. Keep at it and the resulting wave pattern inside the skull of the brain sloshing back n forth is more than enough to kill the infant.

 

[Disir]

Conveniently, the diagnosis provided the cause and manner of death (shaking), identified the killer (the last person alone with the child), and even gave prosecutors mens rea (anger). The diagnosis made national news in 1997 when British au pair Louise Woodward was tried for the murder of Massachusetts infant Matthew Eappen. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

But a determined group of skeptics began to question the diagnosis shortly after that case. As the SBS prosecutions continued, the group of skeptics grew too. The skeptics now include Ronald Uscinski, a former student of Ayub Ommaya, whose research on monkeys in the late 1960s is thought to be the origin of the SBS diagnosis. (See Emily Bazelon’s excellent review of the research in her 2011 piece for the New York Times Magazine, as well as this follow-up.)

New research suggests that most humans aren’t capable of shaking an infant hard enough to produce the symptoms in SBS. It usually takes an accompanying blow to the head. And in about half to two-thirds of the 200 or so SBS cases prosecuted each year in the U.S., there are no outward signs of physical injury. Indeed, this is the reason SBS is such a convenient diagnosis. It allows prosecutors to charge a suspected abuser despite no outward signs of abuse. But we now know that other causes can produce these symptoms, which means that some percentage of the people convicted in SBS cases are going to prison for murders that may have never happened.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled that the SBS evidence presented in Del Prete’s case wasn’t scientifically sound, and had jurors heard the evidence against the diagnosis, they would not have convicted her. The problem for Del Prete and those like her is that while the criminal justice system was quick to let in forensic evidence that convicted her, once convicted, the system puts a premium on finality. In order to get a new trial in a case like this, someone like Del Prete must show not only that she was convicted based on faulty scientific evidence, she must also show that she could not have known at the time of her trial that the evidence was flawed. For Del Prete, that will be difficult. She was convicted in 2003, well after doubts began to emerge about SBS.

?Shaken baby syndrome? and the flawed science in our criminal courts

And another for sure thang is biting the dust.

Not expert in this area, but off the top of my head I'd think any adult has more than enough strength to shake a 20 pound baby violently enough to kill it. Causing brain disruption isn't hard or anything. Vigorous shaking back n forth could very easily cause a concussion and resulting neural trauma. Keep at it and the resulting wave pattern inside the skull of the brain sloshing back n forth is more than enough to kill the infant.

It's the flawed science behind it. There is a lot of that going around.